Chương 57: Chapter 54: One Year Later

It has been a year since the incident inside the Ice Dragon Realm, and things have changed far more than I ever imagined. Besides my grandmother strolling around the castle and doing whatever she pleased, she now enjoys life as an ex-queen with true freedom. She finally has plenty of free time to spend with us, especially me. She showers me with so much love and attention that it sometimes feels almost suffocating in the best possible way. During this time, I have been trying my best to rest properly. Yes, rest.

Not the kind that involves diving into another soul realm or facing new dangers. My parents explained that the intense battles I endured had made me remarkably strong, but they had also exhausted my soul. If I returned to combat too soon, I risked growing weaker or even shattering my soul. Because of that, I have spent the last year resting quietly.

I did very little besides staying inside the castle, reading books, listening to the old tales from my grandmother and grandfather, cooking with my mother, and enjoying peaceful picnics in the beautiful grasslands surrounding the castle. I mostly stopped all brute activities and even refrained from conjuring magic for a long while. That was especially difficult because I had grown so used to using magic for almost everything I wanted.

I also spent a great deal of time reading and listening to my parents and other family members as they advised me about Paths and Classes, and what I should choose next. My father strongly insisted that I wait at least a full year before making any decision. He wanted my body and soul to be completely well-rested and recovered. As someone who desperately wanted to explore the world already, this request was incredibly difficult. But I followed their advice because I was honestly exhausted.

Sometimes I would sleep for over three days straight before waking up extremely hungry. This time, my parents did not panic as much. They knew I was not lost inside a Soul Dream fighting Nightmares, so there was nothing to fear. And honestly, they were right. Resting proved to be very important. After a full year of doing exactly that, I finally felt energized and refreshed. The exhausting strain on my soul had completely vanished, along with the deep fatigue I once carried.

My Soul Scars had almost fully healed as well, meaning there was no longer any Soul Essence leaking from me. I could now move freely and conjure magic whenever I pleased once again. After such a huge adventure full of life-or-death stakes where I nearly died several times, resting for a whole year while lazing around with very little magical or physical activity felt exactly right. My body had the chance to grow stronger naturally.

Thanks to all the special medicine and potions my family fed me regularly, I now felt more energetic and healthier than ever before. Now, at seven years of age, we celebrated my birthday once again. This time, however, it was a much more modest and intimate celebration. Dragons live for hundreds of thousands of years—some for millions—and others have no lifespan at all. Over time, individual birthdays become less significant, and I can completely understand why.

Still, because I am half-human, my mother insisted on celebrating my childhood birthdays even if it was not strictly necessary. Life has indeed changed in many ways. Besides studying magic theory, history, and countless other subjects I had never known about before, more family members began visiting the castle and becoming more active in our daily lives. Among them were Great Grandma Nifl, Auntie Hrymdra, and Uncle Yudrak. Great Grandma Nifl did not visit often, usually appearing once every several months.

Uncle Yudrak came sporadically as well. However, Auntie Hrymdra had started living almost permanently in our castle. She only left occasionally when she wanted to speak with someone, search for something, or handle her own matters. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Having her around was truly wonderful. We could talk for hours about her long life and all the extraordinary things she had experienced.

She taught me much more about ice magic, the ancient history of ice dragons, and stories about her many sisters—the primordial dragon mothers. Each one represented a different dragon family tied to a specific element. Even though I could not practice magic during most of that year, it was comforting to have her presence. And after such a long year of rest, I was finally allowed to conjure magic again, use my skills, fight, fly, and do all the things dragons naturally do.

"Happy birthday once more, baby girl," my mother said warmly, leaning down to kiss my cheek.

"Come on, Alistair. Say happy birthday to your big sister!"

"Awuh… bauh!" Yes, and besides everything else, the biggest and most wonderful change in my life—the one thing that truly set this reality apart from the fantasy world I had built in Your Story Online—was Alistair, my little brother. He was born around three months ago. My mother had already been pregnant during my last birthday, so it was clear she would give birth eventually. Because she still has a human body, the pregnancy lasted eight months. And he was the most adorable little baby boy I had ever seen.

"Awww! Thank you, my cute little baby brother!" I giggled happily, hugging him gently and kissing his soft cheeks as he laughed and waved his tiny hands around. Like me, his hair was a striking mix of white, black, and red. However, it was different in pattern. He was mostly black-haired, with white roots and bright red tips that stood out vividly. He also had a single red horn on his forehead and a pair of beautiful feathered white wings that made him look like a little angel.

Some of the feathers were tipped with red, as if they were bleeding. That sight had frightened my mother at first because she thought he was born with injured wings. Aside from that, he had a small, white feathered tail that wagged excitedly whenever he was happy. My father cried tears of joy again when Alistair was born. He was relieved that his son had not been born "unable to turn dragon" like he had been in his own childhood.

My father himself had only possessed small horns and no other draconic powers at first, appearing almost completely human. But both of his children—Alistair and I—had manifested strong draconic abilities from birth, which filled him with immense pride.

"Aehh! Heheh!" Alistair was almost always in a cheerful mood, laughing and smiling cutely. He was a curious little baby who followed me everywhere. Sometimes he would suddenly fly toward my head and surprise me. Thanks to him, the last three months had not been nearly as boring as the earlier part of the year. I spent a lot of time helping my mother take care of him and watched him grow month by month. He had already begun showing signs of his draconic lineage.

Just the other day, we saw him produce small bursts of white flames from his mouth. Anything more advanced still seemed far away, but it was exciting to watch. My parents were against sealing his powers the way they once did with me, especially now that they understood the potential risks. Instead, they placed a special necklace on him to prevent his powers from going on a rampage and accidentally destroying parts of the castle.

"Happy birthday, my granddaughter," my grandfather said, smiling at me with clear pride. It was always amusing to see a completely normal human standing among so many dragons and fantastical beings. My grandfather was wonderful, though. He loved explaining things to me and had been teaching me magic science, elemental theory, and the history and origins of Fantasium in his spare time. We had also practiced some subtle psychic power training together.

"This is my gift to you. It was about time someone gave you one of these."

"Oh wow!" I exclaimed in surprise as he handed me what looked like a simple bracelet. When I tapped it, several holographic screens appeared, displaying applications, contacts, forums, games, and full access to the internet.

"Is this the latest model of smartwatch?!"

"Yes, directly from Sylph Corporations," my grandfather replied.

"I modified it myself so it will help you even more. With this, you can access the world wide web, learn more about our world, and interact with people safely. I know you are smart enough to be responsible with it, right?"

"Father, is this really necessary?" my father, the king, protested gently.

"The internet is full of all kinds of people. Some might be kind, but others could have ulterior motives toward her."